The American President: A Complete History: Detailed Biographies, Historical Timelines, Inaugural Speeches

After four years in the White House, Martin Van Buren quipped, "As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrendeer of it." Even Thomas Jefferson--one of the country's Founding Fathers--struggled with the realities of the job, saying, "No man will ever bring out of the presidency the reputation which carried him into it. To myself, personally, it brings nothing but increasing drudgery and daily loss of friends." An American pres...